Industry trend Encouraging young and skilled workers

Author / Editor: Ahlam Rais / Ahlam Rais

There is a need for young, passionate and skilled workers in the manufacturing sector today. With constant efforts from the government and industry players the skill gap can be reduced.

The youth have the capability to change the dynamics of any nation with their strong determination and innovative ideas.
The youth have the capability to change the dynamics of any nation with their strong determination and innovative ideas.
(Source: Deposit Photos)

“Give me 100 energetic young men and I shall transform India”, this famous quote by Indian freedom fighter Swami Vivekananda is still relevant in today’s time. The youth have the capability to change the dynamics of a nation with their strong determination and innovative ideas. The same applies to the progress of any industry; the youth are its lifeline.

Specifically for industries such as the manufacturing sector which does not attract much fascination for youngsters, it becomes a challenge. Another hurdle which the global sector is facing is the lack of skilled workers. However, industry players have taken on the challenge and are undertaking numerous tasks to change this scenario. For instance, the Japanese machine tool builder, Yamazaki Mazak recently won the Employer of the Year 2018 award at this year’s Industrial Cadets Awards in the UK which is the pilot project of Tata Steel to encourage manufacturing companies to engage with next-generation talents.

Industry support

Mazak offers training courses through which students complete at least 30 hours of work experience at the company. The course also includes site visits, hands on problem-solving and critical-thinking activities as well as first-hand experiences within its production facility. The training enables them to acquire the necessary set of skills to become engineers. Currently, the firm works together with six to eight schools, taking on around 30-40 students through the scheme over the year.

Spotlight in events

Hence, youngsters have to be motivated to take up jobs in this field and there are many industry players as well as events that are working towards changing this perception. For instance, AMB, the international exhibition for metal working which will be held in Germany from 18 - 22 September 2018 will be conducting a competition called ‘WorldSkills Germany’.

The competition is aimed at encouraging youngsters in this field and at the same time proves to be an ideal platform for the industry to recruit highly skilled talent for their respective organisations as the sector is always on the lookout to attract young and passionate talent.

Similarly, regions across the globe have also realised the importance of skilled workers for the progress of the industry. Europe for example has undertaken the Machine tool Alliance for Skills while the Asian countries such as China and India have also implemented initiatives such as ‘Made in China’ and ‘Skill India’ to nurture the skills of its young people.

Today there is a gap between the industry and our skilled workers. Some have even suggested that automation will take care of all the requirements of the industry but the fact remains that even with the most superior automated technologies on our shop floor we will still require skilled people to control those machines.

Let’s all hope that in the future the sector is able to reduce this gap and leave other youngsters inspired to join this growing industry!

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